Steam engine



N. M. LOWER Oct. 28, 1930.

STEAM ENGINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 13 .1915

fnvencrn: V 0c6/z?z Lower v I Oct. 28, 1930. N, M LOWER 1,779,608

STEAM ENGINE Original Filed April 13 .1915 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E Juka; Jazz/e2 B I F v I Patented Oct. 28, 1930 v UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE. a

NATHAN M. nownit'on BELLEVUE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE STANDARD s'roxnn COMPANY Inc, 031' NEW YORK, 1v. Y., A eon- PORATION or DELAWARE Original application filed April 13, 1915, Serial No. 21,069. Divided and this Serial Ive/564,732.

The invention relates to that type of reciprocating steam engines in which the steam distributing valve is controlled by the piston and its Object is to provide for the regulation of the engine. p

The invention consists of the structure hereinafter described and defined in the claims and as illustrated in the acc'ompanying drawings-of which n Figure 1 is a detail longitudinal central sectional view ofthe engine;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectiono'n the line Fig.1; I

r Fig. 3 is a detail longitudinal section of the motor on plane normal to thatofFig. 1, the

valve mechanism; being shown on line 3 3 of Fig. 4 is a sectional view'on the line '44 of Fig. 3;and T Fig. 5 is a detail of the valve casing. This application is adivision of my application upon which was issued Letters Patent No.1,377,259,May 10,1921. p

The cylinder of the engine is represented at 10, its piston at 11, its pistonrod at 12, and its distributing valve at 13.

Steam is supplied to the casing ofthe valve 13 through the port 14. The valve 13 is of the ordinary D-type and cooperates with the ports 15, 16, leading to opposite ends of the cylinder 10, and with an exhaust port 17 with which either of the ports 15, 16, may be brought into communication through the valve cavity.

The valve 13 is mounted upon a stem 18 upon the opposite ends of which are mounted pistons 19, 20, diflierentiated in size and working within corresponding bores in the valve casing. By-reason of the differentiation in size of the pistons 19,20, the valve is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 3 by the pressure of the steam entering through the port 14.

The port 14 leads to a valve casing 21, the axis of which is in alignment with the axis of the cylinder 10, within which casing reciprocates a controlling valve 22 of D-type. The valve 22 cooperateswith the steam port 23 leading to the Casing of the valve 13 and delivering steam to the outer face of the piston STEAM ENGINE application filed May 31, 1922.

19. It also cooperates withexhaust ports 24,

25, the former communicating with the same end of the casing of the valve 13 as does the port 23, and the latter leading to a suitable outlet. 1

The stem 26 of the controlling valve 22 projects into the cylinder towithin a short distance of its farther end and enters an aperturein the piston 11. The piston rod -12 is recessed from its inner end, as shown at 27, a distance as great as the length-of the stem 26. The outer end of the valve stem 26 is headed, as shown at 29, or provided with any suitable lateral projection, for engaging the inner face of an apertured plate 30, secured to the inner face of thepiston 11. The stem 26 is provided with a shoulder 28 for engagement by the plate 30 at the end of the instroke of the piston 11. v

As the piston 11 approaches thelend'of'its instroke the plate 30 engages the shoulder 28 30 and the valve 22 is shifted to the position, closing theport 23 and. lorlnging the exhaust :portsl24, 25," into shown in 'Fig. 1, thereby communication and permittingithe preponderating pressure upon the inner face of the piston 19 to shift the valve 13 to the position shown in Fig. 3. p A 1 As thus far described the engine andiits valve mechanism are old. In. applying an engine of this type to: certain classes'ofmachinery, such, for example, as stoking mech anism's,,it is desirable to provide forxthe regulation of .the speed'of operation- For this purpose "there is shown control or choke val the port16: The stein 34' of this valve projec'ts into .thechalnber'of a cylinder 35, which is attached to the cylinder lOandcarries at its inner end a piston 36 working within the ve '32 in-the duct 33 leadingzfrom loo former cylinder. An expansion spring 37, reacting between the piston 36 and the end of the cylinder 35, which is adjacent to the valve 32, normally holds the valve away from its seat, leaving the duct 33 open. A duct 38 leads from the duct 33 to the outer end of the cylinder 35, and consequently when the port 16 is uncovered to admit live steam, pressure is immediately applied to the outer face of the piston 36, and the valve 32 is closed in opposition to the spring 37 Since the cylinder 35 is of small cross sectional area as compared with the cylinder 10, the valve 32 will be closed before sufficient steam has entered the cylinder 10 to move the piston 11 or, at any rate, this valve will be closed at the very inception of the movement of the piston 11 on its return or idle stroke. A check valve 41 controls a port opening from the upper end of the cylinder 35 to the duct 38, and permits a reduction of pressure above the piston 36 during the outstroke of the piston 11. The instroke of the piston 11 is, therefore, delayed until the valve 32 is again open. The length of time of the delay will depend on the adjustment of the valve -10. By closing this valve entirely the engine may be stopped.

The valve 32 is gradually opened by the admission of steam from the inner end of the cylinder 35 through a restricted by-pass 39 to the inner end of the cylinder, thus providing a balance of pressure upon the two faces of the piston 36 and permitting the spring 37 to act. A manually controlled needle valve 40 is applied to the by-pass 39 for reducing its effective sectional area, whereby the equalizing of the pressure in the two ends of the cylinder 35 may be further delayed.

The by-pass 39 may be so proportioned relatively to the duct 38 that no movement of the piston 36 will occur upon the uncovering of the port 16, and consequently the valve 32 will remain unseated and the engine will be operated at its maximum speed. By cramping the by-pass by means of the needle valve 40 the instroke of the piston 11 may be delayed and the desired regulation of the engine secured.

In the construction as illustrated there is no delay of the outstroke of the engine piston, an arrangement which is desirable in connection with the use of the engine for operating s-toker mechanism as shown in the application of which this is a division.

While an efieotive and preferred form of construction is herein shown and described, I do not desire to be limited specifically thereto, as the scope of my invention will include 1. The combination with a steam engine comprising, a cylinder, a piston therefor, a distributing valve, said engine being provided with passages for conducting steam from said valve to each side of said piston and for conducting the discharge therefrom, and means actuated by the engine piston for controlling such valve, of a spring opened valve cooperating with a passage leading from the distributing valve to the engine cylinder for controlling the number of reciprocations of said piston per unit of time, a piston actuated by steam from such passage for seating the valve, and a by-pass for equalizing the steam pressure on opposite faces of the piston.

2. The combination with a steam engine comprising a cylinder, a piston therefor, a distributing valve, said engine being provided with passages for conducting steam from said valve to each side of said piston and for conducting the discharge therefrom, means actuated by the engine piston for controlling such valve, of a spring opened valve cooperating with a passage leading from the distributing valve to the engine cylinder for controlling the number of reciprocations of said piston per unit of time, a piston actuated by steam from such passage for seating the valve, a by-pass for equalizing the steam pressure on opposite faces of the piston, and manually controlled means for restricting the by-pass.

NATHAN M. LOWER.

any means for regulating an engine of the type shown by delaying the admission of steam to its cylinder'after its piston has reached the end of its stroke,

I claim as my invention 

